The Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino offers a vintage assessment on
its web site. I was surprised, having tasted many really good 2001s, that
the vintage was awarded "only" four out of a possible five
stars. They gave the 1997 vintage a five star rating and I can only wonder
if this is to add credibility to various journalist's evaluation of the vintage,
which brought a wonderful spike in pricing for wineries in the region.

If you taste a range of the 1997s today, you'll find some wines may have seen
better days. Sure, they were flashy and impressive as youngsters, but it
was not a classic vintage. On the other hand, the 2001s have the acidity
and structure, we think, to warrant cellaring. The wines also seem to
have, if this flight of wines is an indication, better balance between fruit and
tannin.

And here's another factor: With so many new wineries starting up over the
past decade, you have winemakers who, by 2001, had several vintages under their
belts. I suspect the increased level of experience also played a role in
producing better quality wines.

Two wines outpaced the group, being virtually tied for top
honors. One bottle was thought to be corked or flawed by many of the
tasters. I was at less than normal acuity, having had allergy issues
during these windy, pollen-plagued days and even I found notes of mustiness in
this sample.

Our colleague Ellen was unable to participate, as she's undergoing some medical
treatments which preclude her from tasting.

8th Place: ARGIANO 2001 BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINOCORKED!Even with my allergies, I was able to detect an off note in this
wine. Musty elements caused my to eliminated it from consideration in the
rankings, but 4 tasters ranked this flawed bottle ahead of others!
The wine, behind the smells of a cellar full of wet newspapers (probably old
copies of The Wine Spectator come to think of it!), seemed to show some
promise. We'll have to open another bottle.

7th Place: AGOSTINA PIERI 2001
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINOOne taster felt this was an "off" bottle. Another critic
found it to be "earthy, metallic and leathery, with notes of Brettanomyces
and dried cherries. The tannins are correct and balanced, but the fruit
falters and so I ranked it down." Someone else found "a bit of
an olive note in this wine," while one person felt it "was a bit
woody." A final voice mentioned finding "coarse tannins which make the
wine taste 'clipped' or short. The nose, though, displays strong cherry
elements."
I found some earthy fragrances on the nose with a mildly woody character.
The wine is dry and nicely acidic, with some richness and length on the
palate. I, like others, did find the wine to be a bit astringent and
coarse, but I felt it might cellar nicely for 5 to 12 more years. I gave
this one-and-a-half stars on my 3 star scale, no stars being a standard or
ordinary wine.

6th Place: CASTELLO ROMITORIO 2001 BRUNELLO DI
MONTALCINO"This is acidic!" claimed one taster, while a second found
this to be reminiscent of "black licorice." A third person found
"it to be complex and showing cherries and oak. I thought this was
really good." Another critic said "This wine has the right
'power' and 'authority,' though it's almost too ripe." A final taster
mentioned it seemed "closed on the nose."
I found the Romitorio wine to be nicely cherryish on the nose, with loamy,
earthy tones below that. It's certainly got sufficient structure to age
well for 5-10 years and the cherry-like fruit should stand that test of
time. I gave this a one star rating.

5th Place: COSTANTI 2001 BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO"Showing an herbal nose, this is smoky and tasted better than it
smelled." announced one critic. Another person found
"spicy" notes in this wine, while a third taster said "it's a
well-defined mouthful." More critical of the Costanti wine was
someone who said "it's shows 'dirty' elements on the nose and is a
restrained, simple wine with a very sour finish." Disagreeing was the
taster who found this to be "Soft, mellow and well-rounded &
smooth." A final critic mentioned finding "earthy" and
"dirty" elements, noting "I liked the corked wine
better!" Ouch.
I found notes of cherries to the aromas, along with a dusty element on the
nose. The wine is, of course, dry and shows nice acidity. The
structure of this Brunello is sound and it seems a bit 'quiet' or subdued at
this early stage. Perhaps time will reveal more complexity in this
wine? I gave it a one star rating for the present, but can imagine it may
develop into something more interesting with a decade in the bottle.

4th Place: IL POGGIONE 2001 BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO"This is classic," said one panel member, adding "It's
the only really classic wine here. Lush on the palate, with earthy and
leathery notes. I suspect this comes from an older, well-established
estate rather than from a new-comer." (In fact, the estate was
founded in 1890!) A second critic found this to be "big, tannic and
classic." Someone else said "This got better over the course of
the tasting. It improved a lot. That bodes well for cellaring
potential." A fourth voice said "This shows nice, deep aromas
with notes of olives and earth. There's a purity to its flavors, with
cherry and smoky notes." One person remarked "it's got a hot
finish."
I found light cherry aromas and a note of cherry tobacco. It seemed to
open a bit over the course of the tasting. It's youthful, fairly tannic
and nicely balanced. I suspect this may be cellared 10-15 more
years. One-and-a-half stars.

3rd Place: LA MANELLA 2001 "I Poggiarelli" BRUNELLO DI
MONTALCINOThe lead-off critic for this wine described it as "Tight, slightly
jammy and not very complex. Disappointing." Another detractor
said "It's not a very big mouthful." Continuing to pile on, a
third taster described the La Manella as "just a partial
Brunello." Coming to its defense we had a taster describe this as
"Aristocratic. It's showing blackberry fruit, some minerally notes
and has good cellaring potential. It's a bit reserved and
closed." Another fan described this as "Very expressive on the
nose, with ripe, dark berry fruit, currants and a lush, long finish."
I found typical cherry aromas on the nose with hints of spice tones. The
acidity is ample and the wine features tannin, with a rather lush texture, so I
suspect it will age nicely. I pegged it as a 5 to 10 year cellaring
candidate. One-and-a-half stars.

2nd Place: PIANCORNELLO 2001 BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO"This wine shows dusty notes, with ripe fruit and it's
medium-bodied, complex and good." said one taster. Another person
agreed, finding the wine "charming, but not as lengthy as some
others." A third critic mentioned finding "lots of sweet oak and
the fruit seems as though there might be a bit of Cabernet here. It seems,
to me, to be lacking in typicity."
I can understand this last taster's comment, since the wine does have a shading
more reminiscent of black fruit than the typical cherry notes of
Sangiovese. Still, I found a lovely wine here...and a nice cedary tone
from the oak. The balance is good, the wine having deep fruit on the
palate and the same wood I found on the nose. The tannin level seems to be
in balance and I suspect this, while lovely now, will be very fine in about 5 to
8 years. Nice length, too. One-and-a-half stars.

1st Place: COLLEMATTONI 2001 BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO"Here's a big mouthful! This Brunello is well-defined and has
good structure." said the lead-off critic. Another person detected
"A little bit of Brettanomyces as it's leathery with notes of coffee, dark
berry fruit and toasty oak." Someone else described this as
"Very oaky," while another person said it's "too
oaky." One taster felt this was "closed to start, but it's a
nice, big, soft, rich, interesting wine. I found even a citron or
tangerine element and it seems to have modest cellaring potential,
too." Another person marked it down, noting "it seems as though
it's not quite dry."
I found the nose of this wine to be quite complex, in that it shows some cedary,
woodsy tones and nice fruity, cherry notes. On one hand, the fragrance is
youthful, but at the same time, there's an "older" quality to this
bottle. I finally described it as being a tad "rustic" (to some
degree), while it's also classically-styled. There's a faintly resiny note
on the nose, too. The flavors are good, showing some strength, grip and
structure, while having a bit of developed tones on the palate. I suspect
this may last nicely for another 5 to 10 years, but it's really open and showy
now. Two stars+.

Please note: The wines tasted are not always wines
we have (or have had) in the shop.
Many bottles are merely for our enological exploration.
Price quoted are current at the time of the tasting, but may be different
when you're reading this.

WE HAVE NOT ORGANIZED A TASTING IN A WHILE...
BUT WE DO POST THE RESULTS OF A PRIVATE TASTING GROUP THAT'S BEEN MEETING FOR
MORE THAN 40 YEARS!

We are working on
organizing some blind-tastings at the shop.
Send us a note to indicate your interest in participating.
These would be on Wednesday evenings and you'd need to bring 8 wine glasses.